Years ago I was at the deli counter at supermarket getting some roast beef. Some youth walked up to the counter and the following conversation ensued between the counter man and said youth
Counter Man: 'S quarter of 5.
Counter Man: It's quarter of five.
Youth: What time is it?
Counter Man: It's quarter of five!
Youth: What the hell are you saying? I want to know what time it is!
Counter Man: It's quarter of five! Look at the clock? See? 4:45. Quarter of five.
Youth: If it's 4:45 why didn't you just SAY it was 4:45? Jesus
(Youth stalks off)
Counter Man: (to me) Goddamn kids can't tell time without a digital clock anymore.
And it's true, for the most part. I'm not a survivalist (not that there's anything wrong with that) but knowing your way around an analog clock is useful skill to have should the electrical grid get wiped out due terrorism or, as in the case of Arkansas and Kentucky, a snowstorm in January. I've taught my kids analog time just as I'll teach them to drive a standard.
I don't remember when I learned to tell time. Perhaps, like with sex, my parents just gave me a book or a record like How To Tell Time.
As I write this, I'm realizing that because of CDs my kids never had these adorable how-to records. If it wasn't 70 minutes long and cost $16.99 then the hell with it. As I think about it further, the whole "this culture has gone ADHD and can't focus for more than a few minutes" argument falls flat on its face when you stop to consider the lowly 45 that, by nature of the medium, had a short, fixed time.
Be that as it may, let's go back to a simpler time when telling time was as easy as telling time!